Four Many Shirous
by DeathhunterAshi
Summary: There were times where Shirou cursed himself for being too nice and housing the alternate reality version of himself was number 2 out of 3. The first one was agreeing to let him go to school and teach him how to use Magic properly. Going along with the sadistic teen (and mini Servants), his life has become a lot more complicated- yet, why does he feel excited?
1. Chapter 1

_Diary Entry #1: How did I get here?_

" _Lately I've found myself in some sort of a weird situation. Perhaps it was from the invitation that was sent in the form of a request for help or something more. All I know is that it somehow ended up with this."_

* * *

"Hey hey, Shirou! What are you writing? Ya know, ever since Archer got you that book you've been staring at it but not writing anything in it!" Someone with a very familiar voice said as they draped themselves over the redhead who was writing in the diary. This was also in a way- Shirou Emiya.

Now in order to truly understand the situation, we'd have to go back to two days ago.

Shirou was in front of the mansion left by Kiritsugu Emiya checking the mail as he usually did around this time of week when he noticed a strange smell coming from one of the letters. It was enchanted with magic as to make sure he was the only one to read it, but the obscure thing was that the letter smelled like him. Since there was no school that day and Sakura was at home, it was only him today- meaning the Magus could train for as long as he wanted in Magecraft before going to work at the Copenhagen and open the note without anyone staring over him. Going back into the home, Shirou settled down the normal letters and bill notices at a distance and then opened the letter.

 _Dear Shirou Emiya of this world,_

 _Hello, if you're reading this letter then it really did work! How exciting! Though you must be wondering who I am since this magic has a smell similar to yours, right? And no one knows that the famous Magus Killer adopted a son ten years ago…._

 _Well, enough of keeping you waiting! My name is also Shirou. Though it's Shirou Zeltrech instead of Emiya! The reason why I'm sending this to you is because I need a place to stay. Grand-dad went missing a few days ago leaving only a letter saying to 'have fun with yourself' and gave me two really strange chibified spirits! The thing is that they seem to be 'Emiya' as well…_

 _Anyway, if you're reading this letter now, then I should be there within a few minutes. It took a while to configure my magic circuits so that it could come to this universe, so you should be hearing the doorbell ring in five…four…three…two-_

Before the rather bizarre letter could even finish, a loud explosion came from the door along with the bells from the bounded field chiming calmly. Taking one of the metal poles in the kitchen with him, Shirou walked cautiously towards the entrance hall and looked. What he saw was of course, a major surprise.

"Ah ta ta ta….I wasn't expecting the spell to throw me in front of the house. Hope nobody saw that…" The other said as something growled at him while the clouds dissipated, revealing another Shirou Emiya.

Though this one wore a black cape over the red and white shirt, black boots, and blue jeans and had a small ponytail in his hair that brushed against his neck. Besides the clothes, hair, and the slightly tanned areas of skin blending with the paler parts, there was no mistaking the other as Shirou for their eyes were exactly the same golden-brown color. On his shoulders however seemed to be two of the same thing but with different clothing styles. They were both tanned and had white hair, but the one with a condescending look on his face and wore a red coat+battle skirt combo over black battle armor and the others was ripped apart with red bandages and combat gloves while wearing no shoes. When he noticed his staring, the other Shirou grinned sheepishly and cut his finger in the glass, mumbling an aria before the damage repaired itself.

"Well, now that's been fixed. How about I explain all of this over a cup of tea?" Shirou could only nod as the other walked in after removing his shoes as if he owned the place.

' _W-What the heck is going on? I thought that letter was a prank! Though from what dad said, Magus don't like to fool around, especially when it comes to magic.'_ In the end the metal pole ended up going back into his workshop and went to work on the tea, though surprised that the other Shirou had already prepared four cups- two of them being drunken by the two chibi spirits.

"Hm, you look rather surprised at all of this Shirou. Though I suppose I would be too, going to alternate universes usually tends to cause some strange things to happen. Apparently these little guys are from an alternate universe where they became something akin to capsule monsters or Pokémon." The other Shirou spoke while taking a sip of his own tea with a mischievous look on his face.

"P-Pokémon? Wait, besides all of that what's going on? You introduced yourself as another version of me, but how could that be possible?" Shirou couldn't deny how confused his was at the situation, since nothing like this ever happened before. And who exactly was Zeltrech? For some reason, he sounded like a whole lot of trouble…

"Well to put it in a simpler way, I'm Shirou Zeltrech- also known as Shirou of the Kaleidoscope. Though not to confuse the both of us, you can just call me Zelhirou. I'm from a severely altered universe because instead of being raised by Kiritsugu Emiya, I was taken in by Zeltrech. Though because of this, my 'suicidal heroism' as he so greatly put it was lowered from trying to save everyone, to just saving the ones that I can. Though thanks to this, I ended up avoiding the afterlife of becoming Alaya's dog." The other Shirou er-Zelhirou explained while he the main one took it all in.

"The alternate universes, I think I remember dad saying something about only one person being able to travel easily from universe to universe through the third magic." He also said not to attract his attention because it NEVER ends well for any magus.

"Pin-pon~ of course! Though since you've read my letter you already know much about my situation at hand. Since the old man went missing, he locked his workshop and limited me to using the Kaleidoscope to only a few times a week." He had the decency to look rather sheepish while rubbing the back of his head. One of the chibi spirits (the one with all its clothes in tact) sighed and shook its head, seeing to be rather disappointed at Zelhirou's attempt at explaining. He really was as bad as his grandfather at times.

Shirou looked down at the chibi spirits and then back at Zelhirou himself who had an almost expectant look on his face. It wouldn't be so bad to allow him to stay here, right? He had plenty of space to spare and the chibis looked rather harmless- though it would be hard trying to explain how Zelhirou appeared here. Taiga-er, Fuji-nee wouldn't be so akin to believing that a long-lost sibling had come out of nowhere. As if he sensed what he was thinking, the red-haired Zeltrech grinned and pulled out a file teeming with Prana from his messenger bag.

"Ah, you must be concerned about dear 'ol Taiga-san right? Don't worry for I have that covered as well. In this file are forged papers of the existence of Zelhirou Emiya, your older brother who was visiting London at the time of the Fuyuki Fire. Thinking that his adorable younger brother died along with his parents- he was devastated and continued to live with Grandpa Zeltrech when finding out 9 years later that he was in fact still alive! Not waiting anymore for a chance to see his ototou, he rushed to Japan and ran around looking for him in Fuyuki until finally!" He said this while waving his hands around like he was an actor in a play.

"He finds him in the Shinto district and tackles him in a wondrous embrace! The scene is so tearful that not even the famed Raiga Fujimura could not prevent himself from crying!" Finally, Zelhirou slammed his hands on the table, eliciting a hiss from the blindfolded chibi and making Shirou almost flinch in surprise.

"It's perfect, is it not? Besides- it's a lot more cost-effective that using Mystic Eyes on them all the time." The excited smile on his face even took the red-haired Magus off guard. Unlike his, it was full of life and not empty like the ones he gave after Kiritsugu died. He wondered…how was he able to smile like that?

It was so strange that Shirou couldn't help but to smile himself at the alternate version of himself.

"Okay, you can stay here for as long as you need to- Zelhirou!" An almost uncharacteristic squeal came from the other Magus as he jumped over the table without somehow knocking their cups of tea over and hugged Shirou, squeezing him tight while happily saying thank you. Even if he was rather strange and out of character, making him happy made him happy as well…

"Right, now that all the stuffy stuff is over- I present you with this!" Even while he had one arm still wrapped around his waist, he grabbed the blindfolded chibi by its ripped battle skirt and plopped him right onto Shirou's head. It looked ready to hiss and even bite the Zeltrech-raised Magus, but relaxed automatically when smelling Shirou's hair and nuzzled into it. He couldn't help but to blink again in confusion while staring at Zelhirou, who grinned again.

"It's a welcoming present! Remember how I mentioned that they were from another universe where they were kinda like Pokémon but with Gatchapon? Well this little guy is an Alternate version of grumpy pants over here where he's what's known as a Class Card!" He responded while holding onto the other one who struggled with a frown apparent on his face.

"What makes it better is they're so tiny that they don't need a lot of Mana to keep them going and their compact. Besides, it's perfect having a little helper around, even if it's like those Hunters from Left 4 Dead." Eh, Left 4 Dead…? What was that?

"W-Wait, I can't accept him! Besides, your grandfather gave them to you, right?" He just waved it off and continued grinning.

"Its alright really! Besides, I'm pretty sure Gramps gave them to me since he knew I would do something like this. Hmm, perhaps he had 10- years of insight. Damn Grandpa Zeltrech, wanna use some of that on the present?" At that point, Shirou just ignored Zelhirou's strange rambling and got up to make lunch- the chibi Alter holding onto his hair not too tight and continued purring in pleasure.

This was either going to be really annoying or really helpful, and he could feel it.

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Aschlyn: Is Zelhirou...the Deadpool of this story?

Ashi: HA HA HA HELL NO! Only TIM (AKA, The Infamous Man) could pull off Deadpool well. Making Zelhirou like him would be overkill. Imagine him more like...Genie from Aladdin.

Aschlyn: Ah...Well that's a lot more subdued when you really think about it.

Ashi: Yep. Along with that, I will be writing the next chapter of "Rituals for the Soul" soon (though tbh, I started but didn't get to finish) and post the last few chapters of FSTA.

Aschlyn: Much to my dismay, she has a Prequel coming up for the story...And a slight chance that Kazuma will have his own story in a Tales of Xillia fanfiction.

Ashi: -Mutters- Its not 100% ready yet, I've still got a few other things planned like "Trois a' Penible" and "Life of Castertosk"...

Aschlyn: Don't sweat it. Anyway I'll shall be saying the disclaimer. The following is a fan-based fiction. Fate/Stay Night belongs to Kinoki Nasu along with the ideas from Fate/Prisma Illya and Fate/ Capsule Phantasm (which is a Mini-game located in Hollow Axtaria). None of these belong to DeathhunterAshi except for the stupid idea to name the alternate Shirou "Zelhirou".

Ashi: It could have been worse! Now we're off! Ja ku ne! (Man, I really need to change my catchphrase).


	2. Chapter 2

_Diary Entry #2: "Circumstances are called circumstances for a reason."_

 _Like promised, Zelhirou and the two Emiyas were now staying in my- our(?) residence. Coincidentally, it was Golden Week and Fuji-nee was surprisingly busy in another town. Now that I think about it, she did seem a bit scared at going to the other town, but only said that it was a home tutor of a middle school student that's got her all tense. Sakura went on a 'trip' with Shinji, but I can't help but to feel like they just said that to get rid of the nuance that they were still in Fuyuki- just not at their house._

 _Although besides that update...I find myself unable to get out of bed lately. Not that there's anything physically wrong, but the fact that- -_

 _(The rest is omitted, as Archer Alter fell off Shirou's head at that exact moment and fell onto the journal)_

* * *

"Alter, what are you doing? You're going to get hurt if you keep climbing up and falling on the desk." Shirou said while picking the tattered spirit up and dusting him off a little. He purred at his ministrations, which involved gently rubbing its head and massaging any kinks out of its body.

After he went to move away, Alter grabbed onto the redhead's shirt- quickly climbing up from the sleeve to his shoulder and then back to the top of his head- growling in happiness. The only thing Shirou could do was sigh and try not to shake his head, getting up from the table and moving to the door.

Ever since Zelhirou and the others moved in, Shirou has found that his room, with as little as there is in it- has been invaded by them. The blue-striped futon was thrown back into the closet and replaced with a huge king-sized bed right in the middle of the room and his furniture placed tastefully near different parts of it; namely his dresser now was to the right instead of the left and table replaced with a rectangular one instead. Most of Zelhirou's 'stuff was contained in the closet, which now had an alternate space of being a hidden laboratory (another thing he was widely questioning, since the grandson of Zeltrech was taller than he was), including a poster of a wasteland filled with swords that gave him a headache every time he passed by and saw it.

"Ah! Sorry, sorry! I forgot that you haven't awakened THAT yet!" And with that confusing sentence, quickly snatched the poster off of the wall and threw it into the closet. The entire debacle surrounding him and the poster was a confusing one, yet he for some reason wasn't in a hurry for him to know. All in all to say that everything has been 'calm' would be a major understatement.

It seems that most of that would end today when the owner of the Emiya house went to practice his Magecraft today.

Leaving Archer Alter in the living room with Chibi Archer and Zelhirou, Shirou sought to going into his 'workshop' aka the workshed. In the shed was several nondescript items that included some pots and pans, a chainsaw, and several pieces of metal that haven't been used yet. To other Magus it would be known as the highest of insults, but to the redhead it was a comfort in a way. Sitting down in the middle as he always did, he grabbed the metal pole from yesterday and concentrated.

"Trace, o-" "Yo Shii-tan! What'cha doing up so early in the shed?" It was by this little reaction that Shirou lost control before even getting the chance to create a circuit. Turning his head over to Zelhirou, he glared furiously at the adopted Zeltretch for his distraction.

"Zelhirou!" He responded, his eye twitching as the other simply looked to the side while whistling as if nothing was wrong. Normally he wasn't the type to get mad over a distraction, but after two days it was almost as if he was doing it on purpose now!

"Why so mad Shii-Tan? I was just going to tell you that Taiga called saying that she may be in Namimori for a few more days. Looks like helping train Sawada is a lot harder than expected, even with her famed Bouken." Even he shuddered at this, thinking about the cursed sword that seemed to radiate bloodlust at every given moment. Shirou nodded, although still glaring at him.

"Anyway, that's not what I wanted to mention to you bud buddy pal chum pal. It's the fact that you're destroying your body every single time you decide to use Magecraft since dear old Kiritsugu didn't teach you properly. Now forced to rely on both the nervous system and Avalon, you dear Shii-tan are a fine recipe for being screwed over in the next year." He sounded a lot more serious than his usual cheerful self. To the point where it was almost unnerving in a way. There was always a bit of darkness in everyone, but it felt even darker when comparing it to Zelhirou.

"Hell in a Fractured Dimension because Avalon lost a good majority of its Mana from the excessive use of Excalibur and lovely lil' Arthuria getting it back, your body slowly started to deteriorate to the point where you couldn't even walk anymore. That's how fried your nerves were. Your 'dream' became nothing more than an illusion in that timeline and Alaya's wise-ass simply altered your naive wish and still became a Counter Guardian in the end." The way he was staring him down sent a primal bolt of fear into Shirou for some reason. He wanted to run, but couldn't- more like something was forcing his body to ultimately obey and not be killed.

"...You….." Before he could say anything else, a rather loud yowl ripped its way out of Zelhirou's throat as he jumped forward and then backwards, running around the workshed and pretty much breaking the tense air and possibly one of the stray pans lying around. If one was to look directly at Zel's butt however, they could see one very angry and hungry Chibi Spirit firmly attached and growling aggressively. And as everyone knows, sharp fangs really hurt!

"Ah….Ah, Alter!" Snapping out of it, Shirou went to help peel him off, but the other redhead was jumping around far too much for him to even be able to grab.

The fact that it ended like this bothered him for a bit...Why did Zelhirou seem a lot more dangerous when he was practicing Magecraft and what did he mean by Fractured Dimensions and burning his nerves? That was the right way to do it….right? But for some reason, when he said it, everything felt wrong and a small sense of irritation built up in him from the secret.

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Ashi: Woah, a lot of people like this surprsingly…

Aschlyn: Everyone loves Fate/Fanfictions, ya know.

Ashi: Ni shi shi…..I wasn't expecting such good insight of it though. Guys, thanks a lot for supporting the first chapter of this crack-tastic series!

Aschlyn: Says the one who was scoffing earlier.

Ashi: O-OY! Anyway, I'll get to the FAQs of this story then.

hyperomegasonic26: First review, nice. While I am glad of the advice you gave me- I unfortunately haven't played Fate / hollow ataraxia for two facts. One is that there's not a English patch that's extensively available and my brother owns a PSVita and not me. Two is that I want it to mainly focused on Shirou and not really on Saber and them (mostly because they'll be there later and my faithfulness to be able to write Saber is not a very good one). The only reason why I know of Bazette is because I read Prisma Illya and honestly like that version more than the one from HA and Unlimited Codes and Caren…..Eh.

As for the whole 4th Holy Grail thing and Zelhirou being sent on a mission for that doesn't really fit the happy atmosphere I was going for- that and I'd probably end up putting in more ideas from Tales of Xillia 2 with the fractured dimensions (speaking of which- I should address that in one of the chapters).

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AvengerEmiya: Ha, nice name. The reason why I didn't add Avenger or Ruler is for the same reasons as above- I haven't played Hollow Ataraxia. Now in terms of Apocrypha, I'm still on the first chapter of the first volume to be honest so the last place I left off was when Kairi Shishigou was talking about an agreement about his participating in the Holy Grail War. Archer is in fact going to be in the series and the mini Emiyas actually are more like….Shugo Chara or Toraneko Folklore to be honest (That was the best comparison, I don't watch a lot of anime with mini-characters). So I really don't have a good idea of Avenger or Kotomine's personality.

Also I read your Fate/Nympho! My favorite chapter was the one with Kotomine and Rin!

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Suzululu4moe: Lol, thanks for reviewing.

Guest: I'm glad you enjoyed chapter 1! I hope you like the next chapter as well! Sorry for the months of delay!

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And as a included reference from the previous chapter, yes that was a reference from JonTron's Japanese Shoot 'em Ups Video and the mentioning of the Fractured Dimensions will actually be a 'small' plot hole. Mostly to explain a bit about why Zelhirou knows what he knows.

Next chapter will include some actively crazy shenanigans from Zelhirou and possibly some more info about him! Also if anyone can catch the 'very obvious' reference from this chapter, I'll write up a One-shot of their choice! See you all next time! ...Maybe?


	3. Chapter 3

_Diary Entry #3: Confusion_

 _I still feel some weird way ever since that talk with Zelhirou. That strange aura from before didn't seem right- something that properly went with his Soul (?). It was to the point where Alter attacked him full force almost like an animal would. Archer on the other hand wasn't threatened at all, Though he wasn't in the room like the two of us were. I almost want to ask...but something is holding me back from doing so and I don't know what it is._

 _Why did I never notice while he was talking to me that his smile seemed oddly vacant?_

Xx-Determination-xX

Pushing the journal back into his school bag, Shirou sighed while falling back onto the bed to stare at the ceiling. Ever since that 'discussion' with Zelhirou the two of them have been rather awkward around each other, Shirou himself using Copenhagen as an excuse not to be around to too long. From his perspective, it did seem rather cowardly and like nothing was going to get anywhere pussyfooting around (a part of him felt wrong saying that, though it was true).

So in leu of that, the redheaded magus decided to get up and do something about it. It was around then that the Archer that hung around Zelhirou slid open the door before closing it again, a rather sordid sigh coming from his small body. He blinked and looked up at Shirou, a ghost of hatred working its way to his expression before going back to normal- or as normal as a smug look could be. For some odd reason, he could never find it within him to actively like this mini-EMIYA, though he wasn't sure why. Pattering towards the closet, Shirou watched him open it with surprising ease and pulled a journal from out of it, one that looked a lot like his but more...worn.

It was then he couldn't help but to stem his curiosity and picked Archer up along with the journal.

"What IS this? Even when cleaning I don't think I ever found it. But considering how Zelhirou just hides everything in the closet..." It was HIS territory after all. Not that many people were allowed to go traipsing around in it.

Mini-Archer just gave him a look like he was stupid and pushed himself out of his grip and plopped safely onto the bed, waving at him to hurry up and put the notebook down. Huffing a bit, he did as he was commanded and opened the book once setting it down. As much as he tried not to be nosy, he couldn't help himself and flipped to the first page.

Xx-Determination-xX

 **Entry 01 (Redacted):**

 **Hello hello there~! If one couldn't tell, this is ore-sama's journal! Or diary, whichever one you honestly prefer! Though if you're going around in my journal, you're looking for some dirt on me (Shirou finched in surprise and felt a bit of guilt) and that's no good! Archer, if its you- then get a hobby! That's creepy snooping in on me~**

 **If its (redacted) reading, then go ahead and feel free to. I'm sure that you're curious about me and why I came to you in particular. If you read this, you will get your answers. But can you promise me something?**

 **Can you not look at me with the eyes of someone whose scared? I don't know if I can take it if you did, (redacted).**

 **Xx-Determination-xX**

 **Entry 010: (Redacted) -The page was covered in tear stains and blood-**

 **I should've listened to (Redacted) oh god, I should have listened to them. I thought my influence would make everything better, but it just...it made everything worse. The timeline is imploding on itself and everyone that participated in (-Redacted-) is dead. I couldn't help at all, only me and ((Redacted)) are alive and HIS Magecraft is starting to encroach on my body.**

 **I'm scared. I'm scared that I'll lose myself and become the very thing I hate. Please...save me...**

 **Entry 022: (Redacted- Fractured Dimension)**

 **I got to meet this world's (Redacted)! Despite his disability, they was rather nice and made really good food even without magecraft. I wonder if they wouldn't mind me staying with them for a while...though I really wish their Saber wasn't such a butt. She really REALLY dislikes me for some reason. Is it because I smell? Or something else?**

 **(-Continued-)**

 **Why...? Why does fate hate (Redacted)? I was too late in stopping them from becoming a Counter Guardian and with that...**

 **With that power, they became a Divergence Catalyst. Is it bad...that I prefer for them to die like this instead of having their soul used by Alaya for all eternity? Am I cruel for that?**

 **Entry 031 (Redacted - This is a big Diary-)**

 **Ahhh, it hurts...why does (Redacted)'s Caster hate me so much? I didn't even say or do anything bad to him! Then again, having Mr. Pouty Mc Edgelord as a Servant as to suck for (Redactedddddddd) -Right here was a bunch of scribbled and a small bit of blood-**

 **He was standing right behind me and reading! How invasive! Then again, I have to thank him for staying by (Redacted)'s side and even activated his Magic Currents for him. That use of Gae Bolg as an arrow was pretty badass aganist Berserker. I wonder where they will go from here.**

 **Unfortunately, I can't stay long in this universe since Gramps wants me to do something important for him.**

 **Entry 035: (Redacted -Winks-)**

 **KAWAIIII! WHY IS EVERYTHING SO CUTE! I WANNA STAY HERE FOREVER~!**

 **Entry 040: (Redacted)**

 **I don't know how this universe came to be, but its definately one to avoid. A place where everyone is ruled by scientific gods and there are little to no rules...that sounds like total anarcy. I meet the rude Caster for before, though he said that he was a Summon Spirit, (Redacted) and Archer, a really cute Rabbit girl, and one who smelled of the Abyss...**

 **I'm going to stay away from that one, It took me forever to get all my powers back just to escape home.**

 **Entry 086: (At home)**

 **Gramps is GONE and he left me with two Capsule Servants! I...actually can believe that he did such a thing. What makes it worse it that he limited the use of the Kaleidoscope on me and only he can unlock it. I know he's not in trouble (causing trouble most likely), but its still troublesome. The Magecraft that was affecting me is finally under control, though it left me looking like (Redacted) from that Mirror World Miyu-chama was from but I kept my red hair and golden eyes.**

 **Also this is seriously no fair! He blocked off the way to Deadpool's universe! I totally wanted to hang lut with the Merc with a mouth! :'(**

 **Its been I while since I've been to Fuyuki, so I should go there this time around! Even though I've been there plenty of times, I never get tired of seeing my former home.**

 **So I say to this: Eat your heart out Harry Potter AND Naruto Uzumaki!**

Xx-Determination-xX

Shirou finally closed the book and he had more questions than answers. There were parts that he was so happy, and times where he was crying out for help- but that one entry: Entry 22 that stuck the most; it was the one that said his body was deteriorating due to using Magecraft improperly to the point where he couldn't walk. Did that mean...

"(Redacted) is me...the Shirou Emiya of a different universe." Archer looked at him pitifully and he couldn't find it in himself to get mad at the tiny Counter Guardian. He was confused, and shocked, and...he couldn't describe the last feeling. It was different from the primal fear from before and it wasn't a sickening one-

"Hey Shii-tan~! Why didn't say you had all the recent Shin Megami Tensei games? You even have Persona 3-WHAT ARE YOU READING?!" And like a gale of force and red, Zelhirou dived onto their bed and grabbed his journal- tucking it into his hakama. Instead of looking mad, he looked embarassed of sorts and was even fidgeting around. That wasn't the reaction Shirou was expecting at all.

"Did...did you read it?"

"Zelhirou. Stop acting like you're in a Shoujo manga." Why of all things did that come out of his mouth? For some reason it felt like the right thing to say. (Even if the only shoujo manga he ever read was Fuji-nee's secret copies of Full Moon wo Sagashite).

"But you peeked into my diary all nilly-willy and everything! My adventures in Sylvarant! My escapades in Earthland! My rendezvous in the Netherworld with Axel the Dark Hero! How I seduced the Lord of Spirits and met Captain Jack Harkness!" Now Zelhirou was started to make no sense, since none of what he said really appeared into later in the future where Shirou was a healthy 30-year old working as a Mercenary and had no time for video games or for watching spin-offs that ended in 2011.

"Zelhirou. I think what I read was the first journal you ever wrote. I didn't read of any rendezvous or escapes. In it you seemed to be, no- you were suffering." With what he said, the redheaded Zeltrech stopped to stare at him with a genuinely surprised expression on his face before laughing. Though, anyone with a brain could tell it was fake.

"Ahh, so you found it. The one I tried so hard to keep hidden."

(To be Continued)

Xx-Determination-xX

(What happened, this was supposed to be happy, why did it become sad?)

Ashi: I still can't believe how popular this is, thanks for sticking on by! I made a lot of references in this and Zelhirou's fluctuating personality will actually be explained in Chapter 4. And now, for a FAQs!

Amatsumi: Tbh, I never really got to play the Prototype Series so what I know is from Top Ten videos. Tainted Ideals is pretty good, but I would have to ask Stormedge to borrow him. If allowed and addressed, most likely he will have to be brought over/Kidnapped by Zeltrech himself since Zelhirou can't access the Kaleidoscope right now (ref: chapter 1)

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Guest: Thank you for giving me this extensive list (do they count as non-elemental? I think so). I wasn't planning on leaving Shirou high and dry- after all, he is the protagonist of this fanfic along with Zelhirou! One thing for sure is that a lot of the stuff he will be learning is from Zel but have a good majority in Alchemy and transmutation thanks for my love of Fate/Extra. Familiar creation actually sounds pretty good...I might end up putting in a cameo character as his familiar (you can probably guess from how much I love the Tales of Series who it is). As for runes, the only thing I'm saying right now is Fate/GO.

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Cefaye: I'm glad you like Archer Alter! He's my most favorite to write due to most of his actions! You'll learn why he hates Zelhirou so much next chapter too! Magus plural is Magi, got it. For the longest time I wasn't exactly sure, though that was probably from me reading Magi: The Great Labyrinth of Magic before getting into the Fate series.

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Elionai: YES! Someone recognized KHR! I've literally been using it as an excuse in my Fate Fanfiction to lure Taiga away from Fuyuki! Its literally the reason why I started writing a oneshot about it! And trust me, Reborn is helping QUITE a lot.

As for Rin getting EMIYA as a Servant, that hasn't changed- but Shirou won't be summoning Arthuria this time around either (sorry for those who were waiting for her!) but it may be someone from the Grand Order line. I may put up a poll on who later.

Feel free to PM me about the one-shot I promised btw! I didn't forget.

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Guest: Thanks for replying! I'm glad you enjoyed it

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Thank you all again for replying and hopefully Chapter 4 won't take me 5 months to update.


	4. Chapter 4

(Continued from Chapter 3)

"I was actually hoping that out of all the ones you would find, it wouldn't be THAT one of all. It was sporadic, rude, and just a bit too much blood in it." He looked old, older than he seemed, though they were both supposed to be just 16 years old.

Too old for their times, both Shirou and Zelhirou have seen too much. Though Shirou had lost a majority of his existence; having a hazy memory of that day while the rest were erased. Zelhirou...he wasn't that lucky. He laughed bitterly and closed the book roughly, his hands falling to his lap as golden eyes looked down.

"I made a lot of mistakes when I first got the ability to access the Kaleidoscope back when I was around 14. I thought that I would be able to change something about the fates of those affected by the Holy Grail War, but due to my influence- so many more people died and...I was turned into THIS." He laughed again, gripping tightly onto his right arm that was almost completely tan.

"I decided to smile and smile and laugh away the pain. Be like a certain Skeleton ya know? Though there's a major difference between jumping from different universes from different timelines- there is no second chance when it comes to that dimension. Once a part of what made that universe tic changes, the entire thing goes with it and in some cases, a poor sap that happened to be born a Kresnik has to come by and destroy the Divergent Catalyst: The core difference of that universe."

"How many times have I seen HIM kill a version of you just so HE can cancel out his own existence?"

"How many times have I seen a version of us die a martyr and become the next Ruler-classed Servant?"

"How many times have I seen time go back like it's Groundhog Day or Termina or stuck in the Haze because once the third day passes, it starts all over again because of the tainted Holy Grail?!" He was breathing hardly at this point, shaking and looking down at the sheets on the bed rather than at Shirou.  
"I'm nothing more than a pathetic amalgamation of a Counter Guardian and Magus. There are times I even question if I'm still 'Shirou' or just some person who has become nameless like one of the Moon Cell." The expression on his face had a smile on it, but it was unfeeling and pitiful- like nothing more than a failed replication. "Hey, Shirou...am I just a **fake**?"

Shirou, he was shocked for a moment, unable to find the words to say. Behind that smile, that zany demeanor was a sad and broken Shirou Emiya...Zeltrech. All he wanted to do was help, but things didn't work out in that fashion. And yet somehow he didn't lose hope, he didn't become a nihilist bent on just sitting to the side or try to destroy everything on that path.

Zelhirou didn't want to become a Hero of Justice to save everyone, he wanted to become a Hero to save Himself.

Yellow eyes gazed at dulled, molten gold as his hands came up and grabbed Zelhirou's hakama, pulling him down into the mockery of a tight hug. Shirou was never the one to initiate them, so in a way it was out of character in a sense.

"You're not. Even if you went down another path and act totally different, you'll always be Shirou. There's no such thing as just a fake, and I can't magically say that everything will be alright since that would be a lie, but...like with everything it takes time, determination, and a lot of patience. So, take your time Zelhirou. A rushed job isn't always a good job." Shirou slowly rubbed his back while holding onto the taller redhead. He didn't know if it got through to his head, but...

"No matter what, I'm still me, huh...heh. heh heh heh. Heh...he..." He didn't say anything as his shirt became wet with tears nor the shaking coming from the bigger body. Shirou just simply held on, an anchor to the both of them.

"Does...does that mean I'd still be Shirou even if I fought in a giant robot against the Galra?"

"I don't think that counts if your nickname IS Shirō."

"Boo, shooting me down so quickly- how mean..."

Xx-Determination-xX

 _Diary Entry #4: Zelhirou the Liar_

 _Today I learned a lot about Zelhirou from both his journal, but also from himself. He has seen so much, learned so much, but in the end couldn't piece everything together because he was looking through rose-colored glasses. He knew the danger and how to combat it physically, but not from a emotional standpoint. I think that from this, he'll learn how to talk more and work harder so that he can't say 'This is just it with the world' while travelling through the Kaleidoscope. Hopefully, he can genuinely smile instead of having a forced one._

Xx-Determination-xX

And with that, Shirou and Zelhirou's introduction arc is finished! I was going to stretch it out a bit longer, but I think 4 chapters is more than enough. Also viva references, cause there were a lot of them in there- I even spelt one out by just saying smile and Skeleton.

In the next chapter will be unlocking Shirou's magic circuits and possibly, a part of the Kaleidoscope itself? Well, you'll have to see for yourself! As always, thanks for reading and I hope to see you in the next chapter.


End file.
